Chinese tech heavyweight Baidu Inc ranked first in artificial intelligence talents that are engaged in fields like pre-trained large language models, deep learning, natural language processing, intelligent voice, computer vision and autonomous driving, said a new report.

According to the report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, Baidu has applied for nearly 700 patents in terms of LLMs and it was granted more than 160 such patents, topping the list among domestic AI companies.

LLMs refer to computer algorithms that are trained with huge amounts of data and are capable of generating content such as images, text, audio and video. They are the key technology underpinning ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by US-based AI research company OpenAI.

Baidu also secured the top spot in patent applications related to deep learning, as it has filed more than 5,000 such patent applications.

The report said the Yangtze River Delta region, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have gained obvious advantages in AI industry compared with other regions across the nation.

The domestic AI talents are mainly concentrated in leading tech companies, with Baidu, Huawei and Tencent dominating the top three positions in AI talent competiveness, it added.

Baidu introduced Ernie Bot, its large language model and ChatGPT-like product in March, which boasts capabilities in fields such as literary creation, business writing, mathematics and understanding the Chinese language.

So far, more than 150,000 enterprises have requested beta testing for Ernie Bot, which has been applied in a wide range of segments including energy, finance, education and healthcare, the company said.

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